Water heater



Feb. 9, v 1932. M. ALEX 1,844,258

WATER HEATER Filed Jan. lo, 1930 2 sheets-sneer 1 Fd. 9,1932. M. ALEX 1,844,268

WATER HEATER Filed Jan. 1o. 195o 2 sheets-sheet 2 @y/amg @5,

Patented Feb. 9, 1932 PATENT Price MAX ALEX, or DAVENPORT, Iowa 'WATER HETER Application filed January 10, 1930. Serial No. 419,877.

My invention relates to water heaters and has for its principal object the provision ot a heater of this character by means of which a small supply of water may be maintained 6 at a relatively high temperature for immediatevuse and by means of which' immediate reaction of the heating element to a withdrawal of hot water and application of a resh supply of cold water is obtained.

that disclosed in my'prior application Serial No. 282,435, tiled June 2, 1928, for heaters, and embodies certain improvements thereover which ,I have found to be particularly successful for this purpose.

Another and more specific object oi this invention is the provision in a heater ot this character of a construction whereby all oi the elements which may need to be investigated, repaired, or adjusted are carried by a single unit which also acts as a. closure tor the water containing chamber. v

Another specific object of this invention comprises the improvement in the control element by means ot which the water heater is turned 0H and on,

l will describe one term-which my invention may take by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein- Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a water heater embodying my invention;

. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view et the control apparatus; and,

Fig. et isvan end view taken on the lett end of Fig. 3.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the water heater consists'ot a water container 5 which may be of any suitable term and which preferably is cast from a non-corrosive metal such as aluminum in the form shown. is adapted to be This container o closed at its top by means of a cover 6 which F is secured thereto in any suitable manner 4" such as by means of the screw bolts and 8. A gasket 9 is used for making the lioint between the cover `and container water tight. The cover and container are then housed in a suitable insulating material indicated at 53 10 and 11, the two sections 10 and 11 pref- This invention is an improvement overn erably being made separate and adapted to receive the container and cover therein as shown clearly in Fig. l. rlhe entire apparatus then including the insulating cover is placed in an outer container 12 ot a suitable 55 sheet metal or other substance which will protect the insulating material and this container may be closed by a suitable cap 13.

All ot the operating elements of the water heater including the water inlets and outlets are carried by the cover G. This is accomplished by casting with the cover certain lugs or thickened portions at 14, 15, and 16, the thickened portionlfl being provided with an aperture at l? communicating with the interior oit the container 5 and a laterally eX- tending bore 18 adapted to receive the pipe 19 leading to the outlet or faucet conduit 20. rllhe enlarged portion 16 has a bore 21 receiving the pipe 22 of the inlet conduit 23 which 70 maybe connected to a suitable source of water supply. Bore 21 leads to the interior ot the container 5 through an aperture 24 in which the tube 25 secured The tube 25 extends, as shown in Fig. 1, down substantially to the bottom of the container so as to bring the cold` water into the container at the most remote point Yfrom the outlet which makes it necessary for the cold water to rise around the heater before it can reach the outlet conduit.

rlhe enlarged portion 15 has cast integral therewith a tubular portion 26 extending down close to the bottom of the container 5 and closed at its lower end so as to securely protect the heater element 274t`rom any contact with the water in the container 5. rlhis heater element may consist, as is common in the art, ot a suitable insulating' core having a resistance wire wound thereon in any suitable tashion. lhe top ot' the tubular member 26 is closed by means ot an insulating cap 2S through which the leads 29 and 30 for the heater element extend. This insulating piece 28 carries a plurality of terminal screws such as 3l, 32, and 33 for connecting the wire leads 34, 35, 36, and 37 thereto, the leads 35 and 3G being connected to the terminal 32, the leads 29 and 34 being connected to the 100 terminal 31, and leads 30 and 37 being connected to terminal 33.

Leads 34 and 35 may lead to any suitable source of current supply through an aperture provided at 38 in the top insulating element 11 and the container 12 which aperture is referably provided with a suitable porcelain ushing 39. Leads 36 and 37 extend to the terminals 40 and 41 of a mercury contact device 42 which consists of an evacuated bulb filled with a suitable non-oxidizing gas and having therein a body of mercur indicated at 43 which in one position of t e bulb 42, namely that shown 1n Fig. 3, is adapted to connect the terminals 40 and 41 so as to permit current to fiow therethrough to the heater element by way of lead 37, and lead 30; and

which in another osition, occasioned by tipping the tube 42 ownwardly from the position shownin Fig. 3, breaks the Vcircuit between the contacts 40 and 41 and thus deenergizes the heater.

The mechanism by means of which this mercury tube switch is operated will now be described. It will be noted that the tube 42 is supported on a suitable clip 44 which -in turn is mounted upon an arm 45 which has a depending portion 46 extending down between the arms 47 and 48 of a frame member 49. VThe bar 50 extends across'l between the arms 47 and 48 adjacent the free ends thereof, and the member 45 is adapted to rest a ainst this bar 50 which may be in the form oa roller to reduce the friction between it and the extension 46. The member 45 also has a depending sion 46 which pln is adapted to en age a bar 52 so that when the bar 52 is raise the member 45 will be tipped upwardly, and, as the bar 52 is lowered, member 45 will be permitted to tip downwardly to the left, as shown in Fig. 3, and bring the tube 42 into a more nearly horizontal position in which position the body of mercury will fail to connect contacts 40 and 41. The depending extension 46 has outwardly projecting portions at 53 and 54 cooperating with the notches 55. in the lower edges of the arms 47 and 48 to limit the upward movement of the extension 46, its downward movement being limited by the bar 50 and the pin 51.

The means for raisin .and -lowering the bar 52 will now be described. It will be understood, of course, that if, when the temperature drops, the bar 52 is elevated Ato make contact between thel terminals 40 and 41, and,

if the temperature rises to the proper value desired within the container 5, bar 52 will be lowered sufficiently to break contact between the terminals 40 and 41, a'de'lnite temperature control will be had. Y

'The enlargement 16 has screw threaded `into the top thereof a supporting stem 56 which stern carries a metallic tube 57 having `a fairly high temperature coeicient of expin 51 adjacent the extendownwardly,

pansion. I find that a copper tube is quite suitable for this purpose. `hia copper tube is closed at its lower end, as shown c early in Fig. 3, and has suitably mounted therein so as to normally Vrest on the bottom thereof a metallic rod 58 which is preferably made of a material having a lowerv coeilicient of heat expansion than the tube 57 and preferably having a comparativel small coeicient of heat expansion. I lin that an iron rod is sufficiently accurate for this purpose and for the purpose of this invention.

This rod is slidably mounted withi the member 56 and has at its upper end a we gedshaped top portion 59 which pro'ects into the opening 60 in the member 56 an eng a suitabie notch at 61 in the bar 52. Theal 52 is then engaged by a sharp edged member 62 on its top surface as at notch 63 slightly to the left of the point of engagement with the wedged shaped portion 59 as shown in F` 3. The wedge-shaped member 62 is limited in itsu ward movement by the screw plug 64 and `all 65bearing'on the u per ,end thereof, screw plug 64 being screw-t readed into the ,nipple 66 projectin from' the upper end of the memberl 56. Tis nipple 66 1s both internally and externally' screw-threaded as shown, and the member 49 is held in position by a nut 67 which clamps it down upon a shoulder at the base of the nipple 66. An lndicatin dial 68 is`\also held in position by -means o the nut 67 and cooperates with a pointer 70 carried by the knurled head 71 of the plug 64 to serve as a means of indicat` ing the limiting temperature for which the device is set. l

The operation of the control is briefly as follows: Assuming that the device is in position as shown in Fig. 3, the rod 58 is restlng on the bottom of the tube 57, and the bar 52 1s in its lower limitin position for the present setting. N ow theeater is on due to contact being made between the terminals 40 and 41 so that the temperature of the lwater in the container 5 will gradually be increased, the rate of course depending on the heat output of the heating element and the size of the container. The container illustrated in the present case is capable of holding approximately two gallons of water, although 1t ma be made of different sizes as is obvious. As t e temperature of the water increases, tube 57 will expand and become longer thus radually permitting rod 58 to drop farther own, lowering its upper edge at 61 and rmitting the free end o the bar downwardly. I

As this occurs, pin 51 followsthe bar 52 and as a result the support 45 tips downwardly to the left, and, when this action ,has continued far enough, the circuit 52 to also rop i between the contacts 40 and 41 is broken by upon hot water being withdrawn throu f nsl v ment in response to screw plug.

turned off. The heater will remain turned oil until the tube 57 is again cooled sufficiently either by the inlet of cold water or by the gradual reduction of the temperature of the water within the container to again force the bar 52 u wardly about the tip of the member 62 as a ulcrum and thus tip the member 45' upwardly to again make contact between 4G and 41. The position of the bar 52, and as a consequence the temperature at which the heater will be turned oi, may be varied, of course, by moving the member`62 downwardly or upwardly through the medium of the 64; and, by suitably Calibrating the indicatlng disc 68, the temperature may be set directly by the `indications on this disc and the pointer 70, at which it is desired to maintain the water in the container 5.

The position of the tube 57 is, it will be clear from Fig. 1, such that immediately h the outlet 20, the tube is subjected to the e ect of the cold water rushing in from the inlet conduit 23 so that the heater will be turned on practically instantaneously when water isI withdrawn from the container 5. This is particularly advantageous as it greatly increases the supply o hot water obtainable from such a device and also insures positive action by the heater circuit controlling switch at the time water is withdrawn from the heater. p

- I wish to call attention again to the fact that all of the parts which may be subjected to becoming out of order such as the heater, the control, and the inlet and outlet conduits, are carried upon a single element, namely the cover for the container, and carried in such fashion that they may all be examined, adjusted, or repaired without in any way disturbing the water-tight connection between the cover and the container 5.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an automatic water` heater, a container, a cover for said container, said cover having inlet and outlet means whereby to pass water through said container, said cover also carrying an electric heating element, and control means also carried by said cover for controlling the supply of current to said elethe temperature of water in said container, said cover and container being se arable without disturbing the parts carrie by said cover, and said control means having a temperature responsive portion traversin said inlet means whereby to respond qulckly to incoming water.

2. A control construction for water heaters and the like comprsin a tubular heat responsive member fixed to t e container at one end 4and located in the path of water entering the container, said member having its free end closed, a control bar slidably mounted in said tubular member and resting against said free end whereby more or less of said control bar will be housed in said tubular member as it expands or contracts, and means actuated by the movement of said the supply of heat to said container, said means mcludin a lever operated by the movement of said bar and a switch opened and closed by said lever.

3. `A control construction for water heaters and the like com rising a ytubular heat rei sponsive member xed to the container at one end and located in the path of water entering the container, end closed, a control bar slidably mounted in sid tubular member and resting a' ainst said free end whereby more or less o said control bar will be housed in said tubular member as it expands or contracts, and means ac; tuated by the movement of said control bar to control the supply of heat to said container, said means including a lever movable in response to the movement of said bar and an adjustable fulcrum for said lever.

4. A control construction for water heaters and therlike comprising a tubular heat responsive member xed to the container at one end and located in the path of water entering the container, said member having its free end closed, a control bar slidably mounted in said tubular member and resting against said free end whereby more or less of said control bar will be housed in said tubular member as it expands or contracts, and means actuated kby the movement of said control bar to control e supply of heat to said container, said means including a lever resting on the free end of said bar, a ulcrum for said lever, and a switch opened and closed by saidlever.

5. A control construction for water heaters control bar to control y and the like comprisin atubular heat responsive member fixed to e container at one end and located in the path of water entering the container, said member having its free end closed, a control bar slidably mounted in said tubular member and resting against said free end whereby more or less of said control bar will be housed in said tubular member as it" expands -or contracts, and means actuated by the movement of said control bar to control the supply of heat to said container, said means mcluding a lever resting on the free end of said bar, a fulcrum for said lever, and a switch controlled by said lever, said fulcrum being movable toward and away from the fixed end of said tubular member to vary the range'ofmovement of said lever and thereby the emperature at which said switch is operate In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 6th day of December, A. D.

MAX AI/JEX. 

